


Stop, Drop, and Roll

by Crazy4Orcas



Series: Dog Days  AU [2]
Category: Marvel (Comics), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Community: be_compromised, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-29
Updated: 2018-03-28
Packaged: 2019-04-14 08:21:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,208
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14132034
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crazy4Orcas/pseuds/Crazy4Orcas
Summary: “Fury asked for volunteers to go around to the local elementary schools and teach the kids about campfire and fire safety. I thought it would be a fun way to get the kids excited if I could get Lucky to learn Stop, Drop, and Roll."





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Endless thanks to [kiss_me_cassie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kiss_me_cassie/pseuds/kiss_me_cassie) (cassiesinsanity on tumblr) for the encouragement and beta! You're awesome!

The house was empty when Natasha returned from running errands. She’d stopped by the grocery store to pick up the ingredients Clint needed to make dinner, the pet supply store for dog and cat food, and the local microbrewery to surprise Clint with a new brew he’d wanted to try.

She’d also stopped at the veterinarian’s to pick up a special shampoo and medicated dip for the latest pair of puppies they were fostering; the poor things had been found with a terrible case of mange. Luckily it wasn’t contagious and didn’t pose a risk to Lucky, Atlas, or Liho. The new pups were doing well and their fur was starting to grow back in the spots where they’d lost it. Steve had asked Natasha if they could foster the puppies since they required extra care. She’d readily agreed since she knew Clint wouldn’t mind; in fact, she suspected he would have a hard time letting the puppies go once good homes were found for them.

She set the grocery bags on the kitchen counter and put the cold items and beer in the refrigerator. She looked out into the back yard and smiled, thoroughly enjoying the sight of Clint running around the yard, Lucky and the two puppies, which he’d named Sonny and Cher, chasing after him. Natasha watched them play for a few more minutes, contentment spreading through her chest, before putting the rest of the groceries away.

Grabbing a couple of beers and a can of their favorite spicy nuts, she went out to the back yard. Clint turned at the sound of the sliding door and smiled widely when he saw her. He tossed a ball for Lucky, who took off after it, Sonny and Cher following along after him. Natasha set the beers and nuts down by the fire pit and walked over to Clint. He enveloped her in a tight hug and she pressed herself in close before tugging him down to her and kissing him thoroughly.

“Hey,” he said when they broke the kiss. He kept his arms around her and tucked his hands into the back pockets of her jeans.

Natasha grinned up at him. “Hey yourself.”

“Did you have a good day?” he asked before leaning in and nuzzling her neck. She hummed with pleasure and tilted her head so he could have better access. He nibbled at the sensitive spot beneath her ear and she shivered.

“I did,” she replied, biting back a moan. “What did you do with your afternoon?”

Clint had worked an overnight shift and had gotten home just in time for breakfast that morning. He’d gone to bed while Natasha went through her morning lessons and then out to run her errands. He had still been sleeping when she’d left. It had taken a great deal of her considerable willpower to not crawl into bed with him. Well, her willpower and the disdainful look Liho had given her from where she was curled up on Natasha’s pillow.

Clint’s face lit up at her question and he grinned at her.

“I have a new project,” he told her, excitement clear in his eyes and voice. “Watch.”

He turned from her and whistled for Lucky. The dog came running and sat promptly by Clint’s feet. He was much better mannered than when Clint had first adopted him.

“Lucky, stay,” Clint told him then jogged off several yards.

He whistled again and Lucky loped toward him only for Clint to hold up his hand and say “Stop.”

Lucky stopped in his tracks.

Clint then dropped his hand to his side and said “Drop.”

Lucky reluctantly sat then slowly lay down for just a moment before popping back up and racing over to Clint, tail wagging wildly. Clint knelt down and made a fuss praising him. Sonny and Cher galloped over, nosed their way next to him, and demanded a share of the attention being doled out.

Atlas had come over to sit down beside Natasha and she idly scratched behind her ears while they watched Clint with the other dogs. Lucky leaned against him and knocked him off balance; Clint rolled with it and was laughing as all three dogs crawled over him, the puppies trying to get to his face to lick him.

Natasha felt a now familiar warmth spread through her.

She was completely surprised when Atlas woofed and ran over to join in with the other dogs. The big Rottweiler reached them just as Clint was sitting up and she bowled him over onto his back again and licked him across the mouth. He sputtered and laughed harder, reaching up to pull Atlas down and tussle with her. He was soon covered with wiggling, happily yipping canines.

Natasha couldn’t resist grabbing her phone to catch some video of the puppy pile. Steve could probably use the footage when it came time to put Sonny and Cher up for adoption on the shelter’s website.

Shutting off the video, Natasha chuckled as she sat in one of the chairs by the fire pit. She cracked open her beer and watched them play. Liho jumped into her lap and she scratched the little cat under her chin.

Clint managed to disentangle himself from the four dogs, threw several balls for them to chase, then came over to Natasha. He leaned over her and went to kiss her again, but she stopped him with a hand on his chest.

“Hold up there, hot sauce,” she said with a laugh. “You need to wipe the slobber off your face before I kiss you.”

He laughed with her, wiped his face on his sleeve, and leaned in for a quick kiss that she allowed this time.

Clint grabbed his beer bottle and the nuts and sat in the other chair. He tossed a nut in the air and caught it in his mouth.

“So, was that your new project?” Natasha asked. “To get taken down by Lucky and the puppies?”

“Not exactly,” he replied. Atlas ambled over to sit between them and Clint automatically reached out to pet her. “The first part is going great, but the rest really needs work.”

Lucky, Sonny, and Cher were still gamboling around the yard; the puppies chasing Lucky around and through the agility course.

“I, uh, may need your professional expertise with this,” Clint admitted, glancing over at her.

“Of course,” Natasha replied without hesitation. “What’s the goal?”

“Fury asked for volunteers to go around to the local elementary schools and teach the kids about campfire and fire safety.” She could see the spark of excitement in Clint’s eyes. “I thought it would be a fun way to get the kids excited if I could get Lucky to learn Stop, Drop, and Roll. Atlas too, if you think that’d be okay.”

Natasha thought about it and imagined a room full of excited, noisy kids. “I don’t think Atlas would do well with a big group of kids. Lucky will eat it up though.”

Clint nodded. “That’s what I was thinking.”

She gently shooed Liho off her lap, set her beer down and went to stand in front of Clint.

“We need to discuss my fee.” She took his beer from him and put it on the table next to hers, making sure to bend just right so that he could peek down her shirt. Heat curled low in her belly when he swallowed and tugged her into his lap. Natasha ran her hand through his hair and around the back of his neck. She scratched lightly and leaned in close, just a breath away from kissing him.

“Jesus, Tash.” Clint groaned and slid his hands under her shirt and up her back. “Whatever you want.”


	2. Chapter 2

“You know,” Clint said as he peeked into the school gymnasium, “I don’t think I’d really thought this through.”

“What do you mean?” Natasha asked.

Clint rubbed the back of his neck and tugged at his collar. “There are a lot of kids in there, I mean _a lot_ of kids.”

Natasha took a look for herself. The gym was filling up and the noise level was increasing. Clint was shuffling his feet and Lucky had started panting and circling him, wrapping the leash around his legs.

“Clint,” she said and took the leash from him, unwinding it and giving Lucky a treat to distract him. “It’ll be fine. You and Thor are superheroes to these kids, they’ll listen and learn.”

Clint reached for her hand and laced their fingers together; she ignored the fact that his hand was clammy and squeezed reassuringly. She gave Lucky another treat and decided it was time to distract Clint as well.

She stepped close to him and fiddled with the buttons on his shirt. He turned from the gathering crowd and narrowed his gaze at her.

“Are you ‘redirecting my negative behavior’?” He asked. She could hear the air quotes in his tone and grinned at him.

“You _have_ been paying attention to my lessons,” she said and leaned up to press a quick kiss to his lips. “You’ll be generously rewarded later.”

He started to respond when Thor joined them, accompanied by a petite brunette woman.

“Clint, Natasha,” Thor said. “This is Jane Foster, one of the school’s science teachers. Jane, this is Clint Barton, one of my crewmates, and Natasha Romanoff.”

Lucky wound around their legs again and shoved his nose into Jane’s hand. Both she and Thor laughed.

“And that’s Lucky,” Thor added.

“Lucky, sit.” Clint said and he immediately obeyed. “Good boy.”

“Sorry about that,” he said to Jane. “He forgets his manners sometimes. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too,” she replied, surreptitiously wiping her hand on her jeans. “Can I pet him?”

“Sure, but expect to have a friend for life.”

Jane knelt down and ruffled Lucky behind his ears, setting his tail wagging wildly and his eyes closing in pleasure.

“Now you’ve done it,” Natasha said with a grin. “Hit his favorite spot, right off the bat.”

Jane smiled up at them. “He reminds me of the dog I had growing up.”

Just then the commotion in the gym quieted down and they could hear the principal speaking.

Jane stood. “Well, that’s my cue. If you’re ready, I’ll go introduce you.”

Both men nodded, but Natasha could see the nervous glint in Clint’s eyes. And the appreciative glint in Thor’s as he watched Jane.

\----------

Clint let them into the house two hours later. He was still smiling with relief and pride at how well the assembly had gone. Once they’d started with the demonstration, Natasha had seen his nerves vanish. He was knowledgeable and entertaining. Both he and Thor had kept the kids’ attention and were very patient with them.

Lucky had been the star of the afternoon though. The hours she and Clint had spent teaching him the Stop, Drop, and Roll trick had really paid off. This had been the first time they’d done the trick with such a long distance between Lucky’s start and the ‘stop’ command, and the first time in front of such a huge crowd, but Lucky had nailed it. Somewhere along the line, he’d really become overly dramatic with his ‘drop’ but the kids had eaten it up.

By the end of the assembly, there were several dozen kids out on the floor practicing their own Stop, Drop, and Roll, playing with Lucky, and pelting Clint and Thor with questions.

Natasha let Lucky out the sliding glass door to join Atlas in the backyard and he took off racing around the perimeter. She stepped out onto the patio and pet Atlas for a few moments before Lucky came running back over to them. She gave both dogs a pig ear and they ran out into the agility course and lay in the sun to eat them.

Closing the slider, she went back into the house and had to pause to admire the view of Clint as he bent over with his head in the refrigerator.

“What do you want for lunch?” Clint asked as he rummaged around.

Natasha came up behind him and ran her hand across his butt. He immediately took his head out of the fridge and smirked at her.

“Not hungry for lunch, huh?” he asked and leaned against the fridge door, arms crossed.

“Well,” she said, running her hands along his chest and down his arms. She took his hands in hers and tugged him into the center of the kitchen. “I wanted to make sure I had the lesson right.”

“Stop,” she said and leaned up to kiss him. It intensified quickly and heat raced through her before she broke the kiss to nuzzle his neck.

“Drop,” she continued and wrapped her leg around his. She took them both to the floor, but Clint went more than willingly.

“And roll,” she finished, rolling him underneath her so she was straddling his hips. She ground herself against him. Clint groaned and tugged her down to him. He threaded his hands into her hair and kissed her. It went on and on and only grew hotter.

Long, breathless moments later, Clint pulled back.

“Yeah,” he rasped. “I think you’ve got it.”


End file.
